Self-acting gtfabjj-fbog



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i p oHAs. A. rosfrLnY, on SPRINGGARDEN, PnNNsYLvANm.

i ,v seeisCatia teneis Patent `No.` 8,171, dated Jane 24; i851.`

To aZZ fwwm 15 may concern.' l

Be it known` that I, CHARLES A Posrilnr, of the `,district of `Spring Garden, in the county of Philadelphia and State `of Pennsylvania,` have invented a new andIm proved Self-Acting` Lever for` Shifting `Gama-Frog which Performs A11 the `naties of a Switch Withoutmthe Loose Rail; and I do hereby declare` that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1, is a plan of the rail and frogs;

Fig. 2, a longitudinal section showing the.

arrangement of the levers, &c.; Fig. 3, a plan of the working part, the rails being removed; Fig. 4, a transverse section, and Fig. 5, a view in elevation, of the guard and lifting levers and vertical catch detached.

The same letters referring to the same parts a particular reference to the figures is deemed unnecessary.

Letter a, surface of the ground; Z), ZJ, the rails; eZ, eZ, steel points to rails; e, e, ar-e levers acting upon the guards f f2, and upon the upright bars or rods, 3, 3; f1 f2 guards; g, g, g, g, iron castings forming a chamber for levers e, c, and 71, h2 to work in; L, h2, are also levers, acting upon the up right arms or bars 1, l, and 2, 2, of levers z', i, and Za laye', z', lifting levers; 7c, Zt' catch levers; Z, Z, are also catch levers; Figs. 1, 1, 2, 2 and 3, 3 in the various drawings are upright bars or rods; m, m, are upright levers acting directly upon and beingattached to the catches a, a, by means of the connecting rods t, t; a, n, vertical catches; o, 0, weight actupon the vertical catches a, n, by arm or rod p; g, catch in the guard; 7', r, guard lever bars or oscillating frame; s, vault for the levers to work in.

The nature of my invention consists `in placing, 2 levers zf, h2, inside the track, and at such a distance from the rails, that the flanges of the wheels of the engine and cars shall pass freely along the road without `touching them; one end of said levers being tive. There are also two other levers e, e,

working close up `to `the rails and acted upon l by fthe flanges of the wheels of the engine; said levers acting uponthe guards f', f2, and

`the upright arms or bars 3, 8, ,asfherein` 60 after described; The levers 72,', liti, act upon the'upright arms or rod `2, near one feiidfas shown in Fig. 2, the arms 2, servingfas a fulcrum. Thelevers e, e, have for'theii' fulcrum the upright arms or rod 3, near the center as shown in Fig. 2, the upright arms 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, are made of iron, working on pivots at the ends of the levers c' 7c, and Z, `and so placed as to be acted upon in succession by the shifting cams passing over the levers Z1, 71,2, and the flanges of the wheels passingover the levers e, e, their use being to discharge or free the catch and shift the guards, by acting upon the levers c', Zc, Z, and m. The levers z', lc, and Z, can be made of any 75 suitable wood; levers 7c, are placed in such a manner, and so connected that they shall act upon opposite sides, to that upon which they are acted; they discharge oir free the vertical catch n, a, previous to the lifting levers i, being acted upon by the upright arms 1, 1. The levers.' 21, i., are connected with the guard f, for the purpose of raising it alfter the catch has been dis chargedfrom the opposite side; they are acted upon byl the levers h, h2,'by means of the upright arms 1, 1. The lever Z, is worked by the engine wheel flange passing over the lever e. Its use is to discharge the catch previous to the lever e, acting upon the guard f. The weights o, are necessary to draw the catches n '11 into their places after the guards are raised; they act on the catches n, by means ofthe arms 29, upon cam or wheel bears upon the lever h', the lever L, is depressed, acting upon its fulcrum the upright arm 2, causing one end of the lever lc, to descend, while the other end is raised, thus throwing out the catch by means of the upright lever m, and raising the guard f and lowering the guard f2.

In further explanation of the operatiom' should the cam or Wheel act upon the lever z-2 the catch Will be freed from the guard f. As the engine passes on the lever 7a2 is still further depressed causing it to act upon the upright arm or bar l, lowering one end of the lever z', forcing up the guard f2, and lowering the guard f.

The levers e, e, are Worked by the ianges of the Wheels of the engine coming in oontact with them, and causing them to sink, by which they are made to act upon the upright arms 3, (which also serves as a fulcrum to the lever 6,) thus causing the catch to be freed and the guard to sink, at the same time the guard and lever on the opposite side are raised, the upright catches n, are connected with and acted upon by the upright levers m.

What Ic-laim as my invention and Wish to secure by Letters Patent, isv The combination of the rising and falling guards ff2 With the levers e', e, and h h2, by means of an arrangement of levers, connecting rods, etc, substantially such as herein specified, and acting in the manner and qto produce the results herein set forth.

CHARLES A. POSTLEY. 

